The Arizona sentinel., 1887-06-25
A CLIMB FOR LIFE.
Terrible Experience of a CornIshman in .
 Nevada Mining shaft

| Nevada Mining ShSft-
 The other evening a party of min-
 CTS were sitting around the stove in their clearinghouse, smoking their pipes and relating incidents from their experiences while working in
 the mines. One of them, hardy, sinewy-looking Cornishman. of about fifty years of age, related the follow ing story of narrow escape from death. He said in substance:
 Some years ago was working for a prospecting company operating in the
 Western part of Nevada County. The
 company had bonded a quartz claim on working bond, and were at- tempting to develop it as cheapIy as possible. Ayear or two previous the
 owner had sunk a shaft on the edge
 to the depth of three hundred feet,
 but being short of of money had sus-
 pended work and allowed the shaft to fill up with water. The new com pany started to run a tunnel which should strike the bottom of the shaft and serve as a drain tunnel After a portion of the work had been com- pleted the rock became very hard and the expense so great that the manager of the enterprise concluded to abandon it. I suggested to him that it would have been better if he had in the start bailed out the shaft to see whether the property was sui ficiently valuable to justify further de- velopments. told him that even then it would not cost much to do it, and he would be better satisfied if it should be done.
 There was small donkey engine at the mouth of the shaft, and, instead of using a pump, the water had been raised to the surface by "bailing tub" It was finally concluded to get up steam and hoist the water The ledge stood almost perpendicular, and the shaft was very narrow. There was just room enough for the tub to pass up and down, but not room enough to allow it to turn and fill by dipping. It was therefore made to fill by a valve at the bottom. which opened upward with the pressure of the water below. In the course of two or three days the water had been lowered to "a depth of 150 or 200 feet without difficulty. But when that point was reached the shaft made bend to follow the dip of the ledge. One day the tub, when passing this bend, was caught between the walls, and could neither be raised nor lowered. The ''boss" asked that some one should go down and relieve It. This was considered to be a dangerous undertaking. The only way to descend was to climb down the rope, or to trust to perpendicular ladder of slight material fastened to the side of the shaft. Having been so long under water, it was thought that the fastenings might have slipped or become insecure, and no one would trust his life to so frail support. 1 finally volunteered to make the descent, and. seizing the rope, after much diff culty reached the spot where the tub was caught. Bracing myself against the opposite wall and resting my feet on the ladder, succeeded in dislodg- ing the tub from its position. Then l stood on the ladder, drawing myself as close to it as possible, in order to let the tub pass me, and gave the signal to hoist. Slowly the load was raised. and its ascent it squeezed me so hard against my perch as to almost strip the clothing from my body and dislodge me from where I stood. The plan was to remain where l was till the tub should be emptied and lowered to hoist me to the surface again. I watched it as it went up circling and turning as it scraped along the walls. Suddenly there was snap, crash, and l was deluged with water. Quick as flash I realized what had happened. The tub had caught on the side of the landing. snapping the cable and letting it back into the shaft again 1 had no time to think, no time to plan-barely time to realize that I was dead man. chung to the ladder with a death-like grip, closed mp eyes and squeezed my head as close to the wall as I could. Thus I waited for death for what seemed to me painfully long time. I felt sud- den chill pass through me, and the precipitation started from every pore, After what seemed to me long time ventured to turn my eyes upward. There I saw the dreadful tub about half way from the top, turned obliquely across the shaft. with the lower edge resting upon a projecting rock. As suddenly as it left me, hope came back again. Recalling my scat tered senses, planned how should escape. trembled in every limb and felt such feeling of faintness and nervous exhaust that 1 doubted whether 1 could climb out even should the treacherous ladder prove strong enough to support my weight. The slight projection of rock might yield to the weight of the tub that still was suspended over me; or the men above might make an effort | to grapple it, and in doing so might | dfslodge it There was but one thing to do, and that was to climb. l started |
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